making across the administration. we are certain that dr. summers did not do his white house job from overseas, nor did he advise on the overseas economy. we are pretty sure he o-v-e-r-s-e-e-s the coordination of economic policy. say all you want about spellcheck, there is no substitute for a good copy editor. thank you for watching "state of the union." i'm candy crowley in washington. we want to go new to drew griffin in atlanta as bishop eddie long is preparing to give his press conference. candy, thanks. great show. this is developing coverage of eddie long's troubles at the new birth ministry baptist church in lithonia out of atlanta. bishop eddie long just about an hour ago spoke for the first time in a week since these allegations arose. there he is standing with his wife, meeting his congregation at the 8:00 a.m. service. it was just about 9:00 a.m. when

the bishop emerged, of hugg-- w hugged and greeted by applause from a huge congregation. they listened to what in the beginning sounded like a sermon on the gospel and hard times. toward the end, bishop long spoke specifically about the charges he is facing, four young men accusing him of coercing hi them into a sexual encounter. here's what he had to say. >> there have been allegations and attacks made on me. i have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect m

man. but i am not the man that's being portrayed on the television. [ cheering and applause ] >> that's not me. that is not me. i am not a perfect man. but this thing, i'm going to fight it. [ cheering and applause ] >> and i want you to know one other thing. i feel like david against goliath. [ applause ] >> but i got five rocks, and i haven't thrown one yet. [ applause ] >> this extremely difficult time for you because many who called you and asked you questions and all of these kind of things -- you ain't never got this many phone calls in your life.

>> that is as close as bishop long came to denying the allegations. he did say additionally by the counsel of his lawyers, he is not going to try this case in the media. he's going to try it in a court of justice. he was defiant, though. martin savidge is live. he's been covering this event over in lithonia and is waiting for a news conference to begin where some of the sharper questions may come, and we will learn how far, martin, the bishop will go to saying what his congregation really wanted to hear this morning. that these specific allegations are false. >> reporter: right, drew. i think that was one of the things we did not hear in the specific language, he did not directly deny the allegations. and he did not say "i am innocent." we are waiting for the news conference to begin. we're gathered in a chapel which is a smaller gathering point inside of what is a mass ever church here in lithonia.

there are about 35 to 40 journalists that are also gathered here, and we are looking for some sign of the bishop, his wife, and the attorneys that we were told would be present. you know, it's interesting that he used the analogy of talking and describing himself as david up against a goliath when, in fact, he is the leader of one of the largest churches in the united states. he knows presidents and he knows world leaders. so it's hard to imagine that he really is kind of this small individual going up against a giant. i guess in other words, he is trying to portray that the young men who have come forward or their defense team, their legal team is being some sort of goliath. so it's not interesting picture that he tried to portray. he did a very good job, though, of appealing to his congregation whether they truly feel they've heard the truth remains to be seen. we haven't been able to talk to them. we're sequestered in this room here. >> let's bring in don lemon, cnn anchor and reporter, who has been not only covering this but

also talking to some members of the congregation. don, martin said it was interesting that he picked david vs. goliath because in many ways the four young men who are accusing the pastor of coercing them into a sexual relationship, i believe they would probably consider them individual leah t -- individually as the davids going up against this goliath. >> reporter: it is not surprising that he would use something from the bible to describe this particular situation. what i thought was interesting is that in every time, pretty much every time he addressed the issue and saying that he was going to fight it, he prefaced it by saying, i have never espoused to being a perfect man, i'm not a perfect man, but i am going to fight this thing. i am not a perfect man, but there is not the kind of person i am. obviously in that, if you read between the lines, that is something in that where he's saying i haven't done anything perfectly if there is anything

that comes out of this situation that is deemed to be inappropriate, then i'm not perfect. then you have to -- you must accept that. but on the other end, maybe the allegations or what these young men are saying are not as strong or what played out may not be what they're playing out in these papers or lawsuit. i think marty is right, it's going to be interesting to see at this press conference what he admits to. he said, i'm not going to fight this in the mead why. what does that mean? he's gone to tell intimate details this lawsuit or talk about them in this press conference. i think what you'll see is this is a legal issue, i can't talk about that. we can't go there because this is -- we're going to court with this, and everything i say is going to be scrutinized. so i think he will talk maybe personally about a little about himself. but i don't think we're going to get much from this press conference. >> right. >> reporter: it would be great, but i don't think we're going to get it. >> don, stand by. martin, stand by, as we again

wait for this news conference. it had a 10:00 a.m. start. but it is sunday morning, a big church, a lot of moving parts going on. let's go to the news conference. there's bishop eddie long and his wife. and let's see who else is involved here. but this is bishop eddie long in a news conference. >> good morning, welcome. bishop long is going to make a statement this morning as you have been previously informed. there will not be any and answers after his statement. thank you very much. >> good morning, and i just want to take this moment to address you again as of advice of counsel i am not going to address the allegations and the attack that's been levied upon me at the moment.

again, as i stated earlier in the service, i want this to be dealt in the court of justice and not by public opinion. i will say that i am going to fight, fight very vigorously against these charge. and i've been at this church for 23 years. this is the first time i realized that we are as important as we are to get this much attention, and we're going to continue as a church to do the things we do to touch the world. the hospitals that we built in nigeria and in kenya, and things that we're doing in honduras with building homes for missionaries and as we support pitch -- hospice in south africa as you witnessed today. there are many things, and i increase my commitment to working with youth. i've always done that. we've always done that as a church. we've always helped young men and young ladies and families to make sure that they're able to

move forward and to move into college and to do things that make them better and more productive citizens. so things that new birth has stood for, the good things that we have done, and we will continue to do and continue to do, and increase and all of that. so without violating anything that my attorney has so commissioned me and put me -- to instruct me, i appreciate your time. i appreciate you being here. and i thank you. >> mr. long -- >> bishop, are you -- >> bishop long and his wife, vanessa long. martin, i thought this was going to be a news conference. i did not get word that there would be no questions asked certainly. we have received no more information from the pastor based on his not in or guilt in this. that's my take. yours? i see. we only -- don, don lemon, can

you weigh on that? martin is not hooked up yet. >> reporter: yeah, listen, it's exactly what i said before he came out, right? we probably would not get much information out of this because he would lean on his attorneys. the interesting part to this, though, is what the bishop did just now, he could have done one day, hours, one day, two days, three days, on the tom joyner show on cnn. he could have done that and said that days ago without all this drama. if you know bishop long, you know in some sense, he loves this attention. i didn't think that our church was that important, he love the attention in some way that he is getting nationally from this. and it is no surprise that this has culminated into such a big event and then at the end, what do you really get out of it? something that he could have said moments after the situation we found out about the situation. >> don, thanks for your observations on that. let's bring in josh. josh, you know, interesting the pastor talking about not

realizing how big a deal that his church is. but his church is a big deal. we've been talking about it all morning, and it really is his empire, if you will. >> a lot of setup for not tremendous delivery just now, huh? yeah, we were looking for a new statement, new information, even something beyond what his attorney did say the other day. but it is interesting to note before that statement came along, we were able talking about this idea of david vs. goliath, right? i will tell you he is saying he feels like the david. and we're hearing that from the other side, too. they're talking similarly that they do feel that they're up against something huge here. let me just tell you quickly that new birth missionary baptist church is a major church. it's a leader in this movement of mega church in america that is all about prosperity gospel. i'm told we have a matter of seconds. basically, the idea is this is a major, major figure in a major church that's watched all over the world. that's the impact today. drew? >> all right, josh. thank you very much. i want to check one thing.

just look at his web site -- not now but later. it look like they have scrubbed some of the pictures of him. fareed zacharia will follow this after what we thought was a press conference.

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now for our "what in the world" segment. what got my attention this week of a claim by iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad. this one isn't about nuclear weapons or israel or the holocaust, it's about execution. president ahmadinejad claims that there is a death penalty double standard. on the one hand, he says the western world is coming down on iran because it may put a woman to death by stoning. and on the other hand, nobody protests again the execution this week of a woman in america. okay, so let's do some comparisons. we'll start at the macro and

move to the micro. the united states executed 52 people in touch tone phone. -- in 2009. so far, 38 executions have taken place. for those opposed to the death penalty this is obviously 38 deaths too many. but in iran in 2009, the regime put more than 388 people to death and has already executed 180 to date this year, according to amnesty international. amnesty says that included in last year's grim tally for iran were one execution by stoning, 14 public executions, 77 killed by mass execution, and five people put to death for crimes they committed when they were under the age of 18. in the united states, there were no stonings, no public executions, no mass executions, and nobody executed for crimes committed as a juvenile. amnesty says iran executes people for political reasons and

that they saw a huge spike in executions in the days and weeks after the disputed iranian elections of last june, june of 2009. 112 people were executed, they say, that month alone. the united states, of course, does not execute people for political reasons. so what of these two specific cases? in iran it is this woman, who has been sentenced to death by stoning. she was convicted of adultery and is being accused in the complicity of the murder of her husband, a charge she vehemently denies. in the united states, in the state of virginia, t this woman, teresa lewis, who has been executed by lethal injection. s she pled guilty to hiring two men to kill her husband and stepson. some say she's mentally impaired, but the supreme court allowed her execution to continue.

so again, whatever your views on the death penalty, you can see that these are different cases. while we're discussing this topic, listen to my guest from last week as he describes stoning. >> the men are buried to the waist in order to have a chance to escape. the women have no chance. there's a group of men that gather around them and stone them with stones -- not too big in order that the suffering last as much as possible. and not too small in order ton kill. and the target is to transform the face of the woman into a pulp. >> let's go back to president ahmadinejad's original plan. he said there was much more coverage worldwide of the zakena case than the lewis case. he's ready. a search last month showed six times as many articles on the stoning case in iran than the lethal injection case in

virginia. but given the cases i've mentioned, i think this is justifiable. all this coverage might be having an effect. on "larry king," ahmadinejad seemingly changed his tune, saying zakena has not been sentenced to death by stoning and that nothing has been decided. let's hope that he make the right moral decision on this crucial case. we'll be right back. president, if you were to be talking to president gore as -- the president, what would you say? financing their fleet, sharing our expertise, and working with people who are changing the face of business in america. after 25 years in the aviation business, i kind of feel like if you're not having fun at what you do, then you've got the wrong job. my landing was better than yours. no, it wasn't. yes, it was. was not. yes, it was. what do you think?

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shimon peres is the grand old man of israeli politics. he has been foreign minister, prime minister twice, and is now the president. there since before israel's founding, peres has seen it all. four months ago a new wrinkle

was added to the economicsits of the middle east when israel responded to a flotilla in gaza from turkey. nine activists were killed in the raid. now once warm relations between israel and turkey are almost nonexistent. president peres says a meeting he was to have had this week with turkish president abdullah gohl was promptly canceled. they wouldn't talk to each other in person, but you'll see them back to back on this show. first up, president shimon pe s peres. president peres, it's an honor to have you on. >> thank you very much. it's a pleasure to meet you. >> do you believe that the leadership of iran is deterrable? does has a very significant nuclear deterrent, why would iran not be deterred from -- by that?

everywhere else in the world this works, why wouldn't it work with iran? >> who's threatening to destroy iran? do you know anybody? iran is threatening to destroy israel. and who cannot guarantee us that we'll be safe? it's not a group that is based on telling the truth. it's not the leadership that does this. they are introducing terror and killing and hitting, it's a shameful organization. now israel saying we have new york bomb-- nuclear bombs. i know we are suspected -- >> i think on this program now you won't confirm it. >> if there is terror it's an act. and now the secretary over there, used to be foreign

minister, we are good friend. i told -- shimon, we are such good friends. why wouldn't you take me? let me have a look what's going on. i tell him, you're crazy. i'll take you to the dimona, you'll see there's nothing there. they're still being suspicious, they'll fire me. i want them to be suspicious, that's the purpose. >> but do you think that anything ahmadinejad has said in the last few weeks or this week at the u.n., has it worried you more -- there are many people who say this is a very seclude, calculating -- shrewd, calculating risk. they're perpetrating the palestinian issue, this is the game they're playing, and we need to understand that rather than believe than to be mad mullahs. >> i don't believe anything that he says, but we watch everything he does. from hanging homosexuals because

they're homosexuals, for shooting at the crowd of people that are protesting with fire, for sending arms to hamas and hezbollah, for financing terror. i mean, the speech is covering in that case. and they recommend to the world what it does, i do recommend to watch them on the record what it does, what it's threatening, who is threatening iran? furthermore, iran want to become the hageman of the middle east. today the choice for the middle east to remain a middle east of independent country or to fall under the spell of iran. they are ambitious. >> the fact of the matter is that israel finds itself on the same side of the great strategic divide in the middle east right now which is on the issue of the rise of iran. >> right. >> you are on the same side as

saudi arabia, egypt, the gulf states. couldn't this prove to be a strategic partnership that helps solve the palestinian issue, as well? >> it can, it helps. but we admit it open and clearly, it is not simple to do so because, again, ahmadinejad is shrewd. he doesn't speak about shiites and sunites, he speaks against israel. it's hard to stand up and defend israel in this strange debate. >> but that is why he's appropriating the palestinian issue. >> oh, yeah, sure. sure. he use it as a ticket. doesn't cost much. speeches. he supports hamas, it covers part of their budget. we have to have a -- they send

missiles, and we caught some missiles and ships. and we encourage them to -- he encourage them to terrorize. >> let me ask you about the other country that seems to be making a bid for influence in the middle east, which is turkey. turkey has had long relations with israel. you have had military training exercises together. there is now a real rupture in the relationship. you were meant to meet with president the turkish president. is it your understanding that they asked that you apologize for the flotilla incident, and that is why the meeting was called off? >> yes. yes. and there was a certain person that took the initiative to arrange a meeting. usually i sit down with the president, i respect him. he came to me and said, look, we've got to arrange a meeting. the meeting we thought it would

be the panel of the clinton initiative. i said, gladly. then i was asked what do you suggest the topic will be, my answer of was the future. i didn't get an answer. then i read they first want apologies and compensation. i was very much surprised. but we didn't change our attitude to turkey. we were friend s of turkey, we shall seek friendship with turkey. maybe turkey has changed policies it's held in consideration. >> how do you -- how does israel and tark gurkey get out this bi because they clearly feel wounded and want an apology. you have said unequivocally that you will not apologize. how do you restore relations? >> we don't think that we did anything wrong on the ship.

i mean, we decided to catch the ship. there is permission to catch a ship out of the territory water before it comes in. we checked it very carefully with legal advisers. and when our soldier -- there were five ships -- six ships. five? well, more or less specific. the sixth ship was a provocation in their behavior. now we said you want to unload the aid, you want to send to the gaza. come in either to the israeli port or egyptian port and it will be delivered. no, they wanted a provocation. what for? and by the way, if you want to really to help to solve the situation in gaza, why didn't you tell the hamas to stop shooting? why did you close your eyes?

>> and what do you think is the answer to that? is turkey is seeking also a leadership role in the middle east, and it feels it needs street credibility with the arab street? >> i wouldn't like to make any comment which may open a debate. i'm not in a mood to debate. i worked upon the turkish invitation to become a member of europe, we are very friendly. i didn't change my mind. if there is already a change in turkey or is a change being developed in turkey, it's for the turks to judge. i wouldn't like to make any accusations, any suspicion, i have patience. >> so if you were to be talking to the turkish president as you had hoped, what would you say to him? >> i said, look, we are friend.

we have to continue our friendship. if you want to help in gaza, start with the reason, not with the reaction. tell hamas to stop shooting. tell iran to stop sending missiles. they should not threat tonight destroy -- threaten to destroy israel or the holocaust. if you want to -- there are two sides to the story. >> do you look forward and do you believe that in two years we might have a two-state solution and a peace deal? >> i think it's a fair possibility. we really would like to bring an end to the conflict with the palestinians fairly, honestly. for me, the end of the conflict is needed because it's not a matter of political wisdom.

it's a matter of precedence. we, the jewish people, were not born to govern other people. it stands again everything that we stand for. for me it's a test. we think the better the palestinians will have it, the better for us. we'll be better neighbors. >> president peres, thank you very much. always an honor. >> thank you. >> can we ignore this? can we forget what happened in the mediterranean sea? can we forget that people were killed in these ships? i want to give my 5 employees health insurance,

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you have just heard what president peres of israel thinks about the chances for peace and what he would say to his friend, with whom relations are now strained, turkey's president abdullah gul. in a moment, you will hear gul's thoughts on all this. but first, why is abdullah gul

so important? he is nojust the president of turkey, he is also the co-founder with the prime minister of its dominant political party. some observers see the two taking turkey in new directions with ambitions to be the new power broker of the middle east, and some say they are turning away there turkey's entrenched western roots toward an islamic foreign policy. i asked gul about that and a lot more. listen up. president gul, this is an honor to have you. >> it's my privilege to be here. >> you come at an interesting moment because there's a great deal of speculation about turkey. people look at turkey and its recent actions in various ways and they say, is turkey still a loyal friend of the united states and of the west? >> you are right. i've been asked all these

questions here. turkey is part of the alliance. and definitely turkey is very strong of united states. as a matter of fact, president obama, he made his first visit to turkey and he made excellent speech in our parliament. we really appreciated it. the turkish people very much sympathy. don't forget we have a line, we've got afghanistan. turkey is the only country to increase the number of troops there. we increased 1,000 more. now we have 2,000. and we supposed to have 1,000 this year because we want the additional. we saw that there's no country ready to take over, so we decided to continue. >> one of the things people look at is that on the issue that the united states has taken as a very strong issue, the issue of iran, you voted against the

united states in the u.n. city council. i've been following turkish foreign policy for a long time. very rarely vote again the u.s., and very rarely on an issue of core security interests to the u.s. why did you vote against the iran sanctions? >> look, this should not be misunderstood. that vote opened the way for more diplomacy. how can you solve this problem? two ways. war or diplomacy. we prefer diplomacy because if the war happens, the region will be more. >> the other issue is relations with israel. you have had relations with israel for a long time, military relations. ever since the israeli operation in gaza, relations seemed to get

bad and go -- get worse. and then, of course, you had the flotilla incident and at this point there seems to be virtually no contact or communication. how is this situation going to get resolved? >> it's not our choice, you see. we did not prefer this relationship. unfortunately, it was a great mistake from israel's side because this blockage, embargo on gaza, not only turkey is criticizing this. president obama, madam clinton, all five countries, european union, they all called israel to lift this. can we ignore this, can we forget what happened in the mediterranean sea, can we forget that turkish and americans were

killed in this ship? this of a crime. in fact, helping them, it is a violation of the west you see if there's something -- you go there. and if these were all ngos,a the government organization. >> but some say if you're so concerned about the seizure of gaza, why don't you use your good offices to talk to hamas and stop firing rocket at israel, creates a situation in which there's peace and then there won't be a siege? >> very good question. i'll tell you having a few people know. how hamas joined the election.

they join, they want electric -- want election. the next day they were called, your responsibility is different since you want election it will be different. the next day they want to tell us they can -- >> the representatives of hamas? >> they came, and israel knows this. they know. they came and we told them that, look, now your direction should be different from now. you are elected democratically, you should act democratically. terror, nonsense, rockets, you stop all these thing and try to get -- embarrass all t-- embrac

all the american people, all the european people. tell them that if you have your independent state on your land, you are right to live together with israelis. so we are very much helpful to israel. and not only on previous governments, the current government. i mean, many time i went there, many times the department went there, many times they came with us. and we had very gone -- >> with the netanyahu government? >> to the netanyahu government, yes. >> until then, so it's this government you have had trouble with? >> yes. yes, yes, yes. >> some people look at this and say turkey is trying to play a new foreign policy that will win the hearts and mind of the arab world so it is forsaking israel, it is attacking israel, it is having a more islamic foreign

policy. >> no, no. i mean, the rhetoric in foreign policy is not good, you see. it doesn't get anywhere. but terror and war is -- if you dare to raise your voice sometimes then of course the people -- they like this. but we are not against israel. we are not the enemy. but we have a right to criticize the policies. >> we'll be back in a moment with more with turkish president gul. we've heard what israeli president peres would have said to gul if they had met this week. what would gul have said? (announcer) energy security. climate protection. challenges as vast as the space race a generation ago. and vital to global security.

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i'm candy crowley, and here are today's top stories. prominent georgia pastor eddie long told his congregation and the media this morning that he will fight the allegations of

sexual abuse. >> you know, i would want this to be dealt with in a court of justice and not by public opinion. i will say that i am going to fight, fight very vigorously against these charges, and i -- i've been at this church for 23 years, this is the first time i realized that we are as important as we are to give this much attention and we're going to continue as a church to do the things that we do to touch the world. >> four young men filed lawsuits against bishop eddie long this week, claiming he coerced them into sexual relationships. i'm candy crowley, and here are some other top stories today -- an improvised explosive device killed two nato service members in southern afghanistan today. officials did not say who was responsible for the attack. this year is already the deadliest of the war with more than 530 coalition forces killed. a contentious issue between israelis and palestinians is set

to reach an important deadline today. israel's moratorium on settlement construction in the west bank expires at midnight. the palestinians say new building could derail peace talks. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said that 10-month-old curbs on new set. construction will not be -- settlement construction will not be extended despite appeals by president obama. those are your top stories. up next, much more "fareed zakaria gps." and then on "reliable sources," lara logan talks about her trip to afghanistan. with the help of visa digital currency. which lets troy reiners, manager of nebraska's child support payment center, put money into pre-paid visa accounts for just a penny... instead of mailing out checks for 59 cents each. now that's progress. visa. currency of progress.

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personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. israel's close relationship with turkey has been a vital one for keeping peace in the middle east. but after the flotilla incident of four months ago, the

relationship is tenuous at best. we heard what president shimon peres of israel thinks of the relationship. what does president gul of turkey have to say? take a listen. do you think that if -- that there is some circumstance in which your relations with israel will get back to normal? >> that's right. >> you want them to apologize? >> i mean, what international law is saying should be applied here. it's -- we are not asking something different, you see? >> but you won't even meet with president peres, president peres says that he had a meeting scheduled with you and that you then said, your side said that president peres would have to apologize to you, otherwise there would be no meeting. >> no, this is not correct. i mean, president peres -- all right, we are friends. even when he was not president,

you see what i'm -- israel, i used to go to his office when he used to come to turkey, he used to come to my office. so we know each other. but this time there of no such appointment, you see. >> if you met with president peres, what would you say to him? >> i'm telling that okay, approach realistically, and be realistic. of course, not the personal things. and think what happened and think the value of turkey. is it in your interests or not? >> to have a strong relationship? >> yes. >> but you would see him with no precondition? you don't -- you would be willing to meet president peres without an apology, just a conversation? >> no. i mean, what i see, they are

defending their act, and criticizing us as if we did something wrong. with this understanding, how can i meet? i mean, the approach -- the feeling is important, first of all. how can i ignore my people who were killed? we are the -- we have the state tradition. we are, therefore, this 1,000-year tradition, state tradition we have, how can i forget all of these things? >> president gul, great pleasure, and an honor. >> thank you. it's my pleasure. thank you. >> and we will be back.

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you in for our question of the week -- do you think the united nations is, a, a force for good in the world, b, a bureaucracy that has a very mixed record, or c, actively detrimental to peace and justice? choose one. don't forget to subscribe to our free podcast on itunes. that way you'll never miss a show. now to go along with our u.n. theme this week, our book of the week is called "backstabbing for beginners: my crash course in international diplomacy." by michael soussan. the author worked at the united nations, and this is a u.n.'s version of a hollywood tell-on. an insider's account of the oil-for- food scandal. breezily written and great fun to read. and now for the last look. take a look at this photo. the key players in mideast peace walking in the white house. and illinois house that that hosni mubarak,es